Life's Persistent Questions

What's the price?

MCAT fee: $200.
Medical school application fee: $500.
Interview expenses: $2000.
Four years of medical school: $160,000.

Five years of research and a Ph.D. in biology: optional.

Becoming world-renowned neurologist on TV, being able to diagnose patient via video, getting nominated for Nobel Prize in Peace and Medicine by your congressman: PRICELESS.

The Nobel worthiness of Dr. Hammesfahr have been discussed previously. Now here comes Dr. William P. Cheshire Jr., the world-renowed neurologist cited by Governor Jeb Bush to have diagnosed Terri Schiavo with minimally conscious state without performing any physical examination. The New York Times' profile on Dr. Cheshire was pretty unflattering. While Dr. Hammesfahr did not have any publication in the Pubmed database, Dr. Cheshire has dozens. Unfortunately, most of them had to deal with tooth ache, but none on PVS. When his name was mentioned to someone in the field of bioethics, the answer was succint, "Who?"

The list of doctors that have publicly stated their views on Terri Schiavo's condition contrary to the rest of the medical community consists of: a neurologist "nominated" for Nobel Prize despite zero research publication, clinical or basic (Hammesfahr), a nuclear radiologist (Dr. William Maxfield), a doctor specialize in headache (Cheshire), and a heart surgeon that refuses to debunk the myth that HIV can be transmitted through sweat and tears (Dr. Bill Frist, Senate Majority leader).

Look, I know from first hand the educational endeavour that one undertakes to get a medical degree is a substantial one--I've been working for the last six years to add some of those extra letters after my name. But the field of medicine is vast, and in this hyperspeed age of research and technology, a doctor is often forced to become more and more specialized in order to stay on the top of his game. While it's no shame to admit one's limitation, it is a disservice to everyone in medicine to hand out unsubstantiated praise and accolade like "world-renowned," "an authority in bioethics," and "Nobel nominee" to individual doctors purely because their views fit your political and/or personal agendas. So please, Mr. Jeb Bush, a "world-renowned" relative, and "expert" in politics, keep your medical experts to yourself.

posted by hedgehog @ 9:51 PM